Ozone abatement system for semiconductor manufacturing system

ABSTRACT

An apparatus and method for abating ozone and reducing sulfuric acid from an exhaust stream. In a semiconductor manufacturing plant the processing of wafers involves the cleaning and etching of wafers, the resultant processing may produce gasses which must be abated. The apparatus and method utilizes UV light in high doses to convert ozone (O 3 ) to oxygen (O 2 ). By ensuring laminar flow through the UV light chambers, the efficiency of the system is sufficient to allow for the remaining impurities in the exhaust air to be removed through the use of an RTO.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to methodologies and an apparatus for theabatement of ozone produced during the processing of semiconductorwafers.

Semiconductor device fabrication involves various processing steps whichmay fall into four general categories: deposition, removal, patterning,and modification of electrical properties. Deposition is any processthat grows, coats, or otherwise transfers a material onto the wafer.Available technologies include physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemicalvapor deposition (CVD), electrochemical deposition (ECD), molecular beamepitaxy (MBE) and more recently, atomic layer deposition (ALD) amongothers. Removal is any process that removes material from the wafer;examples include etch processes (either wet or dry) andchemical-mechanical planarization (CMP). Patterning is the shaping oraltering of deposited materials, and is generally referred to aslithography. For example, in conventional lithography, the wafer iscoated with a chemical called a photoresist; then, a machine called astepper focuses, aligns, and moves a mask, exposing select portions ofthe wafer below to short wavelength light; the exposed regions arewashed away by a developer solution. After etching or other processing,the remaining photoresist is removed by plasma ashing. Modification ofelectrical properties has historically entailed doping transistorsources and drains (originally by diffusion furnaces and later by ionimplantation). These doping processes are followed by furnace annealingor, in advanced devices, by rapid thermal annealing (RTA); annealingserves to activate the implanted dopants. Modification of electricalproperties now also extends to the reduction of a material's dielectricconstant in low-k insulators via exposure to ultraviolet light in UVprocessing (UVP). Modern chips have up to eleven metal levels producedin over 300 sequenced processing steps.

Many toxic materials are used in the fabrication process. These include:poisonous elemental dopants, such as arsenic, antimony, and phosphorus,poisonous compounds, such as arsine, phosphine, and silane, and highlyreactive liquids, such as hydrogen peroxide, fuming nitric acid,sulfuric acid, and hydrofluoric acid.

One chemical that has recently been introduced into the process is ozone(O₃). DNS (Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company) Single waferprocessing wet tools DC-08, DC-09, DC-10 & DC-11 use a new cleaningchemistry of sulfuric acid and Ozone.

Ozone (O₃) is a form of oxygen that consists of three oxygen atomsjoined together into a molecule. This form of oxygen has significantlydifferent characteristics than the common oxygen molecule (O₂), whichconsists of two oxygen atoms. The ordinary O₂ form of oxygen is, ofcourse, present in the air we breathe and is indeed necessary for life.

The role of ozone in the environment is more complicated. First, ozonein the upper atmosphere plays an important role in protecting life onearth by absorbing dangerous short wavelength UV from the sun. However,it is harmful in the lower atmosphere since it is an irritant whenbreathed and is therefore an undesirable air pollution component.

The ozone used in fabrication must be abated before being exhausted intothe environment. Conventional methods of ozone abatement utilize carbonfilters to reduce the ozone and sulfuric acid to acceptable levels. Thefinal stage of abatement systems is an acid scrubber to remove theremaining sulfuric acid. The acid scrubber is a water wash that theexhaust is passed through. One issue with the carbon filters is a resultof the need to constantly change out the filters over time. Thisrequires significant maintenance and cost.

SUMMARY

The inventors have proposed a new and novel approach to abate the levelof Ozone in waste gasses for a semiconductor processing system. Theinventor has determined that Ozone in semiconductor manufacturing wastegasses may be abated with the use of UV light to break down the Ozonefrom O₃ to O₂.

In one embodiment the system may comprise a first reflective chamber,the reflective chamber having inner surfaces with a diffuse reflectivematerial. An inlet is adapted to accept exhaust air from an exhaust ductand direct the exhaust air to the reflective chamber in a generallylaminar flow. At least a first plate is located between the inlet andthe reflective chamber to further induce laminar flow in the reflectivechamber.

At least one plate may be located in the reflective chamber to furtheraid in the laminar flow through the reflective chamber. As the plate islocated in the reflective chamber the plate may be coated with a diffusereflective material.

As the exhaust air may include caustic materials such as sulfuric acid,and to reduce the ppmv of the ozone, the system may be adding bleed airto the exhaust duct. By introducing bleed air the system reduces thedensity of the ozone in the air making the reflective chamber moreeffective. In addition, the bleed air lessens the density of the causticmaterials in the exhaust air improving the life of the system.

To improve the performance of the system, a second reflective chambermay be added in series with the first reflective chamber. To ensurelaminar flow a plurality of plates may be added to the first and secondreflective chambers. The plates may be perforated with a plurality ofholes. The plates may be at least the cross sectional area of thechamber cavity to ensure laminar flow. In addition, the reflectiveplates may be coated with a diffuse reflective material such aspolytetrafluoroethylene.

To further ensure laminar flow is achieved, a plurality of plates may beinserted between the inlet and the reflective chamber. In addition, aplurality of plates may also be inserted between the first and secondreflective chambers to further induce laminar flow in the reflectivechambers.

The method of abating the ozone from the semiconductor manufacturingexhaust waste may include introducing the exhaust containing ozone andsulfuric acid to a chamber. To reduce the density of the ozone and othercaustic materials the system may introduce bleed air into the exhaust.To ensure performance of the system, laminar flow is promoted throughthe use of perforated plates and an inlet designed to promote a laminartransition from the exhaust duct to the reflective chambers. The ozoneis then exposed to high doses of UV light to break down the ozone intooxygen. Finally the exhaust is provided to a regenerative thermaloxidizer (RTO).

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a prior art ozone abatementsystem.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an ozone abatement chamber.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a reflective chamber in the ozoneabatement chamber.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plate for the promotion of laminar flow in theozone abatement chamber.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method to abate ozone, according to an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of aconventional solution to the ozone abatement for the DNS single waferprocessing tool. The ozone is generated with an ozone generator 110which is provided to a process chamber 120. The ozone is mixed withsulfuric acid and off gases as the wafer 125 is processed. The off gasis exhausted through exhaust ducts 125 to a carbon filter 130. Theexhaust ducts 135 may be stainless steel and coated with Halar toprevent damage from the sulfuric acid. The gas passing through thecarbon filter 130 is then provided to an acid scrubber 140 to remove anyremaining sulfuric acid. The gas is then exhausted through stack 150into the atmosphere. The carbon filters 130 require maintenance as theozone and sulfuric acid is absorbed by the filters. This requiresperiodic replacement of the filter and disposal of the used filters.This may be costly and involve significant manpower. The inventorproposes a solution to this embodiment that avoids the constraints ofthe carbon filter system.

FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram of an embodiment of theinvention. The ozone is generated with an ozone generator 110 andprovided to a process chamber 120 to process the wafers 125. The processchamber 120 utilizes the ozone in combination with sulfuric acid to moreprecisely process the wafers 125. The process chamber 120 may be a DNS(Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Company) single wafer processing wettool, DC-08, DC-09, DC-10 or DC-11. DNS's process produces exhaust gasthat comprises ozone at 250 CFM at 0.4 pounds of ozone per hour(lbs/hour) or 215 parts per million by volume (ppmv). In addition theexhaust gas comprises sulfuric acid which evaporates from the etchingand cleaning solution.

The first step in the processing of the waste gas may be to dilute thewaste gas by adding bleed air 230 at 50 to 250 CFM to the waste gas. Theresult of this additional bleed air may increase the flow of exhaust airto about 300 to 500 CFM and may be to reduce the sulfuric acid tonon-detectable levels and the ozone from 179 to 107 ppmv. The reducedvolume of sulfuric acid reduces the acid to a level that is less harmfulto the abatement tooling. In addition, by reducing the ppmv of the ozonethe inventor has determined that the effectiveness of the abatement atlater stages improves.

The exhaust air may then be fed to an ozone abatement chamber 250 whichwill utilize UV energy to abate the ozone to about 21 ppm. The inventorhas determined it may be useful to reduce the ozone further to a levelbelow 10 ppmv to nitrous oxide prior to providing it to a regenerativethermal oxidizer or RTO 270. Therefore, one embodiment of the inventionmay provide the exhaust air to a second chamber 260. The exhaust air maybe abated such that the level of ozone is reduced to about 9 to 5 ppm atfrom 300 to 500 CFM.

The final step in the process to remove any remaining sulfuric acidand/or ozone is to provide the exhaust air to an RTO 270. An RTO isessentially a large oven that heats exhaust passing through it to 1500°C. As stated before, the inventor has determined that the level of ozoneentering the RTO should be less than 10 ppmv. The inventor has foundthat when the ozone level is above this level, the RTO may produceunacceptable levels of nitrous oxide N₂O. The exhaust gas is thenexhausted through a stack 280 to the environment. The final exhaust gasmust contain gas wherein the exhaust comprises gas with less than 3.0lbs/hr of N₂O.

The inventor has determined that ultraviolet energy at the properwavelength interacts with ozone to disassociate it into ordinary oxygen(O₂) and atomic oxygen. The inventors have determined that one suchsystem which may be utilized was created by Novatron. The wavelengthused in Novatron's AUVS systems, may be effective for disassociation ofozone. The Novatron system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,404,186issued on Mar. 26, 2013 and is hereby incorporated by reference. The keyto the Novatron system is the introduction of surfaces with highreflectivity to UV light. In one embodiment, the emitter may be anysource of UV, such as a flashlamp or a pulsed lamp, which provides broadspectrum pulsed light and can be purchased through vendors such asFenix, of Yuma, Ariz., medium pressure mercury arcs, available fromHanovia Corp, and germicidal lamps.

The Novatron system further utilizes a coating on the surface of thechamber of a diffuse reflective material. The highly diffuse reflectivematerial may comprise one or more of: Spectralon™ which has areflectivity of about 94%, ODM, manufactured by Gigahertz-optik, whichhas a reflectivity of 95%, and DRP which has a reflectivity of 99.4 to99.9%. Spectralon™, which is a highly Lambertian, thermoplastic materialthat can be machined into a wide variety of shapes to suit variousreflectance component requirements, may be purchased from Labsphere,Inc. DRP can be purchased in sheet form, with a peel and stick backingfrom W. L. Gore and Associates. In another embodiment, the highlyreflective material comprises an Alzak oxidized aluminum, which has areflectivity of about 86%. One such diffuse reflective material is ePTFE(expanded PTFE, Polytetrafluoroethylene) and has a reflectivity of 99%or better in the UV. When PTFE (also known as Teflon®) is expanded,millions of microscopic pores are created in a three-dimensionalmembrane structure. DRP is an example of a surface with highreflectivity based on favorable multiple scattering of light from thestructure of the solid. Spectralon (See U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,705) isanother example of a highly reflective surface resulting from compactionof small fluorinated polymer components, for a patent describing thistype of reflector is Seiner's U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,085, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes. This Seiner patent describesmethods of producing highly reflective coatings with fluorinatedpolymers and references the Kubelka-Munk scattering analysis.

Very high, uniform UV doses in large volumes of air may accomplishsignificant ozone reduction in industrial air streams. The inventor hasdetermined that the Novatron's AUVS reflective cavity technology maymeet the requirements to abate the ozone to an acceptable level prior toentry into the RTO. By utilizing a highly reflective cavity the systemthe level of ozone abatement is significant enough to reduce the levelsto an acceptable level. However, the inventor has determined that toachieve the level of abatement desired, laminar flow through the systemis required.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of an ozone abatement chamber 310. Thechamber 310 comprises a plurality of plates 320, 321, 322, 323 and 324to create laminar flow through the chamber. Two reflective chambers 330and 335 are located in the system. Reflective chambers 330 and 335further contain additional plates 331, 332, 333 and 334 to ensurelaminar flow is maintained through chambers. Reflective chamber 330follows plates 320, 321 and 322. Reflective chamber 335 follows plates223 and 224.

The exhaust is directed into the chamber 310 through ducts 350. Theducting is arranged such that it promotes laminar flow into the chamber.The inlet 355, take an exhaust input from a smaller diameter duct 350.The inlet 355 is configured as a trapezoid. In one embodiment theopening of the duct 350 is 8 inches. The inlet takes the duct 350 up tothe opening of the first plate of 24 inches by 48 inches. The inlet 355is 36 inches long to allow for smooth transition to promote laminar flowthrough the chambers.

The first set of plate 320, 321, and 322 may be perforated plates of 316stainless steel, 0.625 inches thick with an equidistant array of 288holes, each having a 7/16 inch diameter to promote laminar flow. All ofthe plates 320, 321, 322, 336, 331, 332, 337, 323, 324, 338, 333, 334and 339 may be of the same size with the same characteristics. Anembodiment of plates 320, 321, and 322 are better shown in FIG. 5. Theplates 320, 321 and 322 are placed between the inlet 355 and the firstreflective chamber 330. An embodiment of reflective chamber 330 isbetter described in FIG. 4.

Chamber 310 further comprises a plurality of dampers 360 and 365.Dampers 360 and 365 comprise a plurality of opposed blades. The dampers360 and 365 may comprise blades that rotate to close and prevent airflow or rotate open further assist the laminar flow through the chamber310. Dampers 360 and 365 are in place to allow for the chamber 310 tooperate while shutting down one of the two reflective chambers 330 or335.

To shut off reflective chamber 330, damper 372 and 360 are closedallowing for maintenance of reflective chamber 330. In addition dampers371, 373, 374, and 376 are open, while damper 377 is closed. This allowsexhaust air to flow through ducts 370 and 375 into reflective chamber335. While the laminar flow will not be optimal, some abatement of theozone will occur.

To shut off reflective chamber 335 for maintenance, dampers 365, 371,374 and 376 are closed. In addition, dampers 360, 372, 373 and 377 areopen. This allows the exhaust to flow through reflective chamber 330,while maintenance will be performed on reflective chamber 335. Duringnormal operation dampers 360, 365, 372 and 376 are open while dampers371, 374 and 377 are closed.

FIG. 4 illustrates an embodiment of a reflective chamber in the ozoneabatement chamber. The reflective chamber 400 comprises a centralchamber 430 through which the exhaust gases pass, on either side of thecentral chamber doors 410 and 420 are located. Banks of lamps 415 and425 are located in the doors 410 and 420 respectively. The lamps in oneembodiment comprise 20 lamps. These lamps produce 400 watts of UV light.The inner surfaces of the doors 410 and 420 are coated with a diffusereflective material such as DPR. The internal surfaces of the centralchamber are also coated with a diffuse reflective material. To promotelaminar flow, the lamps 415 and 425 are located with in doors 410 and420 outside the central chamber 430 to promote laminar flow. Theinventor further identified that heating of the exhaust as it passesthrough the reflective chamber may cause the warm exhaust to rise,introducing turbulence into the system. To promote laminar flow as shownin FIG. 3, plates 331, 332, 333, and 334 are placed in reflectivechambers 330 and 335. The plates promote laminar flow in reflectivechamber 400 and are coated with a diffuse reflective material such asDPR.

FIG. 5 illustrates a plate for the promotion of laminar flow in theozone abatement chamber. The plate 500 is designed to fit the openingsin the chamber 310 and promote laminar flow. The plates are generally0.0635 inches thick and have a plurality of holes approximately 0.625inches in diameter. Plates 331, 332, 333, and 334 are also coated with adiffuse reflective material such as DPR. In addition, plates 336, 337,338, and 339 may also be coated with the diffuse reflective material topromote reflective.

FIG. 6 illustrates a method to abate ozone utilizing the embodimentsillustrated in FIG. 2-FIG. 5. The first step 610 may be to introduce anexhaust containing ozone and sulfuric acid into an abatement system.While one embodiment may be to include sulfuric acid which may beproduced in a system for cleaning wafers, the first step may be limitedto providing only ozone to the abatement system. Step 620 may be addbleed air to the exhaust. This may raise the flow of exhaust from 250CFM to anywhere from 300 CFM to 500 CFM. Step 630 may be to promotelaminar flow in the exhaust to improve the efficiency of the abatementof ozone. Step 640 may be to expose the exhaust to high doses of UVlight to break down the ozone to oxygen. The final step in the processmay be to pass the exhaust through the RTO to eliminate any remainingpollutants in the exhaust.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

1. A method for ozone abatement comprising: causing exhaust air from anexhaust duct to enter a first ozone abatement chamber comprising a firstcentral chamber and one or more UV lamps housed in one or more doors,inner surfaces of both the first central chamber and the one or moredoors are coated with a reflective material, the one or more doors aresituated exterior to the first central chamber and outside the flow ofthe exhaust air through the first central chamber, the first centralchamber comprising a first series of laminar flow plates to ensurelaminar flow through the first central chamber, wherein at least thefirst series of laminar flow plates are coated with the reflectivematerial; causing the exhaust air from the first ozone abatement chamberto enter a second ozone abatement chamber comprising a second centralchamber through which the exhaust air passes and one or more UV lampshoused in one or more doors, inner surfaces of both the second centralchamber and the one or more doors are coated with the reflectivematerial, the one or more doors are situated exterior to the secondcentral chamber and outside the flow path of the exhaust air through thesecond central chamber, the second central chamber comprising a secondseries of laminar flow plates to ensure laminar flow through the secondcentral chamber, wherein at least the first series of laminar flowplates and the second series of laminar flow plates are coated with thereflective material; passing the exhaust air from the second ozoneabatement chamber to a regenerative thermal oxidizer connected in serieswith the second ozone abatement chamber such that the exhaust airexiting the second ozone abatement chamber directly enters theregenerative thermal oxidizer.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein passingthe exhaust air from the first ozone abatement chamber to the secondozone abatement chamber comprises: passing the exhaust air through athird series of laminar flow plates positioned between the first ozoneabatement chamber and the second ozone abatement chamber to maintainlaminar flow of the exhaust air from the first ozone abatement chamberto the second ozone abatement chamber.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: passing the exhaust air through a third series of laminarflow plates immediately preceding the first ozone abatement chamber; andpassing the exhaust air through a fourth series of laminar flow platesimmediately following the second ozone abatement chamber.
 4. The methodof claim 1, wherein the exhaust air comprises a combination of ozone(O₃) and sulfuric acid.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the reflectivematerial is polytetrafluoroethylene.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first series of laminar flow plates and the second series of laminarflow plates are at least 0.625 inches thick and are perforated with aplurality of equidistant holes.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein themethod for ozone abatement reduces ozone levels to less thanapproximately 10 ppm at a velocity of the exhaust air ranging fromapproximately 300 to 500 CFM.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the oneor more UV lamps produce at least 400 watts of UV light.
 9. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: reducing a volume of sulfuric acid inthe exhaust air to non-detectable levels by adding bleed air through anair port connected to the exhaust duct.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein the bleed air from the air port increases a velocity of theexhaust air greater than or equal to 300 to 500 CFM.